Catching Hell Part One: Journey

by Marc Watson

  “Not you, Sho. Least of all you. By God, man, how can ya think it was yer fault? Ya did wha' ye must, and ye were the only one tha’ could. Ya did wha' even I would 'ave 'ad a terribly difficult time doin’. Don't waste yerself runnin’ the useless errands of a dead man.”

  A small, half-smile came to the face of the newcomer. “You sound just like my mother.”

  “HA! More like yer mother sounds like me. I'm the older one. Still, she's damn right. This never shoulda’ been yer path, ya old fool.”

  Mother? Since the name Tokugawa was mentioned, Aryu assumed that this person was related to Ryu, and Crystal was his lover. The rest came together.

  “Well, as ya brought it up, is yer mother still alive?”

  Another shallow smile. “Yes, she’s alive, and I'll wager you have a lot of questions for her.”

  Nixon looked annoyed, even though the answer sounded like what he wanted to hear. If Sho knew what Nixon was referring to it was a safe bet Crystal did too, meaning she'd likely have some kind of answer.

  “What d’ye know, Sho?”

  “Nothing at all compared to her. She has some very interesting new skills since last you saw her.”

  “Really? I doubt she could be much more powerful. What grandiose ability does she possess now?”

  Without eye contact, Sho simply said, “She can hear the Echoes of the Omnis.”

  Nixon was on him at once, leaping across the space between with a speed Aryu could barely perceive, his massive hands grabbing the red armor. Aryu could swear he was beginning to trail smoke. “What! You had best be tellin' me yer jokin', Sho. Even then, tha’ is certainly not funny at all!”

  Aryu was amazed at the loss of control from the phoenix. He'd seen him angry, but never like this.

  Sho was still very calm, clearly not fazed by the sudden violent treatment by the slightly larger man. His eyes casually scanned the ground as he continued. “For almost three centuries now. I would never dare joke with you, Nix. Your temper is something I want no part of. Your sword, even less. Besides, why would I lie about that? I'm as worried about it as you seem to be.”

  “Bullshite! If ya knew HALF as much as I do about the Omnis and what it all means you'd have gotten off yer self-pitying arse yerself and stopped her before she even started! Don't ya DARE pretend ya fear for her when ya coulda’ stopped it!”

  No doubt about it. There was smoke coming off every inch of Nixon’s body in small, wispy plumes.

  “I won't pretend anything. You should know I couldn't stop her if I wanted to. What am I going to do, fight my own mother to the death? I've killed enough of my parents in my life, thank you. And besides, you're one to talk about avoiding the Omnis when you accompany that sword and bearer. I don't have to remind you of what your duty is, sworn to God Himself. You can't really complain right now.”

  The smoke plumes were coming off Nixon like he was on fire beneath his armor, but the great hand released Sho and dropped him back to his seat. Nixon’s eyes burned into the stranger, the light within them bright and furious. Still, he took a few steps back and allowed himself a measure of composure.

  “You, sir, do not get the right to question me, my God, or the way I conduct my business, I say thank ya.” It was as if Nixon was fighting the battle of his life just to keep from bursting into flames of rage.

  Sho just straightened himself and returned to looking nonchalantly at the ground. “You are correct, sir. I apologize. My time in isolation has done me no favors in the area of social niceties.”

  Nixon still looked mad enough to explode, but he did return to his spot across the fire. Many tense minutes passed before he spoke again. “Very well then,” he began at last. “Has she shown any effects of the Est Vacuus?”

  Sho shook his head. “No, though in truth I fear I may not know what to look for. I hope you may be more attuned to that sort of thing when you meet with her. I rarely see her anymore. She stays in her Haven most of the time. She always insists I come around more, but she only wants to guilt me, just like you. I'd rather not hear it.”

  “Bah, given the time I'd tell ya ‘til ya could hear it no more. Ya hold no responsibility at all, Sho. Ya should have reveled in yer victory and died in peace.”

  Sho didn't respond. Aryu could read in Sho’s thin face that this topic was one he was very sick of. He decided to be the icebreaker. “While we seem to have a quiet moment here, can someone please explain what that was all about?”

  Nixon simply glowered and said nothing, seemingly content to allow Sho the chance to tell this tale.

  “Very well,” he began, still looking around at nothing and everything. “The short version is that as you may have guessed, your large friend and I have met before. At that time, the world was still suffering the shock from the loss of those with the Power. Nixon arrived a day later, the carnage of the situation still fresh.” Nixon frowned at the words but said nothing. “At that time I accompanied him and my mother around to assess the damage. When we finished it was agreed that my time of usefulness was past and I should leave this life. Even my mother thought so, having never wanted me to follow the same path as her and my father...”

  “So your father was Ryu, the false god?”

  A smirk at the title. “I see you've been speaking at length with our friend here. Yes, Tokugawa Ryu was my father. Anyway, after Nixon left and I returned to these lands with my mother, the destruction and lifelessness that seemed to cover here were evident, even after a short time had passed. The amount of the Power here exploded when he purged things and ravaged the land, making it not unlike Nixon’s home.” Aryu signaled his understanding so Sho continued. “The fault lay with two people: Death, whose foolish selfishness had caused the anger of Ryu in the first place, and Ryu himself, who should have never acted as he did without thinking about the possible side effects. Since both were unavailable to answer for what they’d done, for obvious reasons, I took it upon myself, against my mother’s advice and my word to Nixon, to return my homeland to its previous splendor and maintain it until it could sustain itself or I die. As of yet, neither has happened, so I remain, to do what I swore to myself I must.”

  “Why you?” Aryu asked right away, intrigued by the story.

  Nixon looked over at Sho, clearly interested in the answer himself. “Well,” said Sho after a moment, “I suppose that would be because after those two, I was the next in the chain of events that caused it all...”

  “Bullshit ya fool!” Nixon spat at the fire to hammer home his point, the action causing a brief flare-up.

  “So you and Mother say, but answer me this: who, then? Who would save my home? Not my mother. She stopped caring about anything but her Haven long ago, seeing change as necessary in the course of things.”

  “And she was right, Sho. Even my home will be restored one day, with or without anyone’s help.”

  “But your home isn’t haunted by the ghosts of an evil action you caused. I couldn't leave it like that, Nix. I was the only one left with blame on his shoulders and the power to do something about it.”

  “You were, and are, a fool t’ think tha’.”

  “Yes, yes, so I've been told. Many times, thank you.”

  “Not enough, it seems.”

  Sho almost smiled. “Oh, how I look forward to getting you and Mother together again!”

  The brief show of humor amused Aryu, though in truth he agreed with Crystal and Nixon. He couldn't see why Sho was responsible.

  “I 'ave much more t’ discuss with her than you and yer foolishness.”

  “Well, I do hope so. The both of you at once would be more than I could stand.”

  Nixon wasn't as amused as Aryu seemed to be at the chiding. “Is she still in the same place, near the tower that once held her?”

  “She is, but the tower no longer stands, a remnant from the destruction I wasn't keen on restoring.”

  Sho saw the new look of confusion on Aryu’s face. “There was a time my mother chose self-imprisonment as a
means of protecting the world at large from her volatile abilities. Now she no longer required it and left for her Haven. Though if you ask me, there's not much difference between the two. I need to continue my rounds. I'll likely see you two again at her home, though I promise nothing.”

  He rose to leave, as did Nixon and Aryu to see him off. “Thanks for the workout, boys," Sho said earnestly. "It's been a while since I'd stretched the legs like that. Next time let's see if we can spare the trees. It takes a lot of work to make them as big and strong as I have.”

  Sho shook hands and was ready to leave.

  “Ya may be a damned fool, Sho, but I can't say I'm not glad t' see ya.”

  Sho bowed deeply as their hands released. “I thank you, my friend. I am glad you are here as well. I hope we can still do great things together.”

  With a nod and a wave of salute, the strange man vanished into the trees like a wraith, not making a sound as he evaporated.

  “A damned fool he is, I'll tell ya, but there are worse people t' 'ave on our side.”

  “Well, I like him,” Aryu said. “I have to know, though; why does he claim responsibility for what happened here? What did he have to do with it?”

  “I’ll spare ya tha details for the moment, but tha shortest answer is tha’ Sho defeated 'is father in battle whichh triggered tha Third Fall of Man. I was awoken, met Sho and 'is mother, did as he described, and it was done. To see 'im here now is more than a little disappointing, I can tell ya.”

  Aryu could see why. It seemed wrong that he must live to avenge his father’s mistake. “So why does he blame himself?”

  “Because it was selfish pride tha' put him in tha’ battle in the first place. He 'ad defeated his brother and believed he was good enough to face Ryu at a time when Ryu felt he needed to die but couldn’t. Then Sho won, and the rest is 'istory.”

  “Why did Sho fight Ryu?”

  Nixon began to speak but held his tongue. After a moment, he tried again. “Because he is a good man, and sometimes Ryu was not.”

  Nixon and Aryu sat in silence, saying nothing as the small fire died. Aryu wasn't sure he agreed with either of them, but he could say that any crime committed by a selfish act by Sho wasn't worth a lifetime of servitude to his father’s mistake.

  Soon, Aryu slept again, the events of the day overtaking him.

  Nixon, as was his way, did not. He sat, listening to the pain of the voices, each looking for a way to be freed.

  Chapter 13

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  Slipping in the Back Door

  At first light, Nixon woke Aryu with more edibles than he could believe. Various fruits, some kind of small mammal meat, hot tea, and a large piece of honeycomb to finish.

  “Eat all ya can, Aryu. Tha days ahead may be long.”

  Aryu was still holding onto the unlikely belief that his part of this quest would end when Nixon met with Crystal. He thought of Johan as he ate. If he’d stuck to the plan, and if Esgona didn't slow Johan down too much, he should be nearing Huan very soon. Aryu wished he was with them, or at least one of them. Not just for the company but to see the things they were seeing. The Thunder Run in particular was legendary for its massive size and awe-inspiring beauty.

  “From 'ere we walk,” said Nixon. “It shouldna' be much farther.”

  The land was hilly and green, vast forests abounded, and the dampness was palpable. Nixon led the way like a pro, but Aryu was no slouch. He was able to keep up on the ground much better than if they were in the air.

  Nixon filled the damp morning air with more stories, his supply seemingly endless. At times he asked Aryu about himself, the journey he'd just been on, and the years preceding it. It felt good for Aryu to talk about his family and home. He was more at peace now with the circumstances. He was still a bubbling pit of hatred and revenge, but he realized nothing he could do was going to stop what had happened, and if Nixon hadn't been there, he'd likely just be another statistic of the destruction. At least here, he was able to go on living, planning the end of the force that had wronged him and Johan, not to mention every innocent life of Tan Torna Qu-ay and beyond.

  “And what of yer parents?” Nixon asked at one point. “Do ya not wish to find them?”

  Aryu looked struck. “More than anything… But I need to pick my fight. The time I spend looking for them is a waste if the monsters of the Old just take everything down. I’ll focus on finding them when we’re done.”

  As the early afternoon began, the sun burned off the morning chill while Aryu marveled at the idea that one man could keep everything as lively and beautiful as Sho had, as if a defeater of a god needed any more proof of his abilities. Aryu still didn’t trust Embracers, but it was good to see they weren’t all as terrible as he’d been led to believe.

  While Aryu ate a small lunch, Nixon scouted ahead. When he returned, he informed Aryu they weren’t far off. Without asking how he could be so sure, Aryu followed Nixon again until they reached a thick wall of trees.

  “On tha other side of this is where we start.”

  Aryu looked at the dense brush, unsure at once of his or Nixon’s ability to get through without thrashing and cutting their way, a tactic Aryu wanted to avoid after his meeting with the respectable Sho.

  “Can we fly over it?”

  “Nah, not this time. If this truly is tha place we seek, on foot is tha only way in or out.”

  Aryu trusted Nixon and followed as the big man began to move into the thicket.

  “Can anyone just wander into one of these havens like this?” Aryu asked, doubting a place of such power and solitude could be so easily stumbled upon.

  Nixon shook his head. “Nah, only one with the Power t' see it and enter its walls. If someone could wander in at will, the sanctity of tha place for the user would be lost, and aged Embracers would 'ave nowhere to 'ide.”

  They broke through the woods and entered a large field, lush with grass, a variety of fresh smells, and a collage of different wildflowers, overlaid perfectly with the ring of trees encircling the space and the distant mountains and their snow-capped peaks lining the horizon. Nixon began heading towards the middle of this slice of perfection.

  “Nixon, I have no Power. What makes you think I'll be able to enter into this place just like that?”

  Nixon began moving through the foliage. “Well, there are a few possibilities, Aryu. The first of which is tha’ simple bein' with me will allow ya in. Sometimes the owners can be fooled, though not often. If ya stay with me, ye can almost piggyback in on my presence. These things aren’t foolproof. The next is tha' Crystal, havin' likely known of our arrival thanks to Sho, will allow ya in, since the creators have some control. The last is tha’ even without any real Power at yer command, tha’ thing on yer back will 'ave more than enough stored up t’ get ya in the door.”

  “Well, what if those things don't work? Will I just watch you disappear?”

  Nixon smirked. “I’d wager ya got nothing t’ worry about.”

  “And what makes you so confident, oh worldly one?”

  “Because we've been in Crystal’s Haven since we came through the trees, Aryu.”

  Aryu didn't feel any different. Whatever power this was, he couldn't sense it like he could the innate power of his sword.

  “Are you sure? Nothing seems different.”

  Nixon raised his eyebrow. “Doesn't it? 'Ave we passed through any place as beautiful as this yet today, or any days previously?”

  “No, but this land is all new to me. Every new hill brings something I've never seen before.” Nixon relented to this fact.

  Aryu followed Nixon as he trekked to the center of the field, marveling at the sounds of birds and smells of wildflowers all around him. A part of his heart ached that his friend couldn't be here to share in the wonder of this place.

  “So where is she? There doesn't look to be anyone here but us.”

  “Well, this is her home. She's here or somewhere close by, or we'd have n
ever gotten in. It's one of the perks of these places, almost like a natural security system if ya leave for too long.”

  At the center of the field was a meandering silver stream. It was no wonder Crystal didn't like to leave. If he was cursed with immortality as she was, what better place to spend it?

  “We wait here,” Nixon said. “She'll be about when she wants. I doubt the lure of my being 'ere will be easy for her t’ resist.”

  Aryu almost asked why but never got the chance. A voice came from behind them. A part of him, and from his brief experience with it, the part of him that was intimately connected to the Shi Kaze, knew she was there before his natural senses did.

  “You flatter yourself, Nixon. I'm not so bored as to pounce on every visitor I get here, even if it is someone as interesting as you.”

  The voice Aryu heard was light, youthful, and airy; something more akin to an over-confident child than an all-powerful mystic being from before time was time.

  As Aryu turned to meet her, real shock set in.

  In the last few weeks, Aryu had learned not to be so surprised by the things he'd seen and the people he'd met. In that brief time, he'd become what he would have considered a worldly person. People, especially ones as young as Aryu, are never easily limited in their views. Although he hadn't formed a visual opinion of her, nothing could have prepared him for this.

  It was her age that struck him first. She looked very young. Barely older than him. Her face was soft with perfect skin, small features, and stark beauty. Her hair was white but not so white it looked like snow. More like it had been sun-bleached for a thousand years. Maybe it had? Even her eyebrows were bleached off-white. Last were her eyes. Nixon had the most surreal and unnatural eyes any man could ever see, with their red-shimmering centers floating in a sea of the deepest black. If there was a bizarre eye contest, Aryu knew Crystal Kokuou would have come in second. The whites were as white as any other normal person, perhaps too much so, but her eyes themselves were an odd shade of dusty, faded pink, and the black of the pupil seemed horribly out of place. She was wearing a thin, knee-length silver dress that blew in the wind as if it was made of nothing at all. Her arms and legs had the same perfect-yet-imperfect look as her face, like her skin had never seen the sun from the day she was born. Her body was youthful, seeming to confirm that she was no older than she looked. She wore no shoes of any kind, her feet bare and standing out against the grass and dirt beneath her.